Horse Meat

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the contribution of the horse meat slaughtering industry to the UK economy.

David Heath: No estimate has been made of the value of the horsemeat industry to the UK economy, there are four abattoirs in Great Britain approved to slaughter horses. 9,405 horses were slaughtered in the UK for human consumption in 2012. The main destination for horsemeat exports is France.
	
		
			 UK exports of meat from horses, asses, mules or hinnies 
			 Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Value (£000) 1,886 3,718 4,879 3,890 4,008 
			 Volume (Tonnes) 999 1,956 2,827 2,192 2,233 
			 Source: H M Revenue and Customs—Data prepared by Trade Statistics, Analysis and Evidence Team, DEFRA 2012 data is subject to amendments

Sexual Offences: Southwark

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sexual offences committed in the London Borough of Southwark in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, (d) 2010, (e) 2011 and (f) 2012 resulted in convictions.

Jeremy Browne: It is not possible to link crimes recorded by the police from the data that the Home Office hold with the convictions data that the Ministry of Justice hold.
	Additionally, the data that the Ministry of Justice holds does not include the location of the offence and it is therefore not possible to provide the number of convictions for sexual offences which took place within the London Borough of Southwark.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what volume of clean development mechanism permits remain outstanding to UK companies under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme; and what volume of such permits are currently outstanding in the EU.

Gregory Barker: Eligible certified emissions reductions (CERs) and emissions reduction units (ERUs) can be used for compliance in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), subject to a limit. This limit is cumulative across Phase II (2008-12) and Phase III (2013-20) of the EU ETS and will be defined in a forthcoming European Commission regulation on international credit entitlement. Therefore it is not possible as this stage to provide figures on the volume of outstanding clean development mechanism or joint implementation units that can be surrendered in the EU ETS.
	Information is available on the number of units surrendered so far. In the years 2008 to 2011, 30,271,290 CERs and 3,234,025 ERUs were surrendered for compliance purposes by UK EU ETS operators, with 456,104,840 CERs and 99,216,180 ERUs surrendered by all ETS operators across the EU(1). Figures for 2012 will be available shortly after the compliance deadline of 30 April.
	(1) European Commission published EU ETS cumulative compliance data 2008 to 2011:
	http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets/registry/documentation_en.htm

Child Care Vouchers: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether the tax-free childcare measures announced in the 2013 Budget will be accessible to people living in Scotland;
	(2)  whether the childcare voucher scheme will be accessible to people living in Scotland;
	(3)  whether the tax-free childcare measures announced in Budget 2013 will be accessible to people living in Scotland.

Sajid Javid: On 20 March 2013 the Government announced that it would provide support to working families through the creation of a new Tax-Free Childcare Scheme.
	For every 80p eligible families pay in, the Government will put in 20p up to the annual limit on costs for each child. Parents will be able to use the vouchers for any Ofsted regulated child care in England and the equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Corporation Tax

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for time taken in devolving corporation tax to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

David Gauke: The Government recognises that many people are keen to see a decision on the devolution of Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland made quickly. However, the issues involved are complex and a decision cannot be rushed.
	The Prime Minister has set out a decision on Corporation Tax that will be made in the autumn of 2014.

Non-Domestic Rates: Third Sector

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give consideration to changing the rules about business rate discounts for charitable and non-profit organisations to offer a 100 per cent discount through Government funding in order to prevent local councils being forced to reject applications for discretionary rates due to council budget restraints.

David Gauke: The Government has no plans to change the rules about business rates reliefs for charitable and non-profit organisations to provide for a mandatory 100% discount, though all aspects of the tax system are kept under review.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to improve the efficacy of HM Revenue and Customs' telephone services following the closure of enquiry centres.

David Gauke: Over the last five months HMRC has answered on average over 90% of all calls and plans to invest further in its Contact Centres in 2013-14 to maintain this performance.
	HMRC has also introduced a more flexible resourcing model, to better manage busy periods by deploying extra resource to deal with short-term increases in demand. In early summer 2013. HMRC is introducing speech recognition technology to its Helplines, allowing customers to access the correct service by what they say rather than using key pad options.
	Between 3 June and 31 October 2013, HMRC is piloting a new service in the north-east of England for customers who need extra help. As part of that pilot, the inquiry centres in the north east will close on 3 June 2013. The pilot will be used to gather more information and ensure that the service given is as good as it can be. A decision on whether or not to close the remaining inquiry centres and roll out the new service nationwide will be made in January 2014.

Defence Suppliers Forum

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 437W, on the Defence Suppliers Forum, which members of the Defence Suppliers Forum have received more than one invitation to attend in the last 12 months; and how many meetings of the Forum there have been in that period.

Philip Dunne: The Defence Suppliers Forum met on three occasions in the last 12 months. Representatives of the following organisations have attended on more than one occasion:
	Babcock International Group
	BAE Systems
	EADS UK
	Finmeccanica UK
	General Dynamics UK
	Hewlett-Packard UK
	Lockheed Martin UK
	QinetiQ
	Rolls-Royce
	Serco UK
	Thales UK.
	In addition, a representative from Aspire Defence has attended all three meetings in support of a particular agenda item.
	Two representatives from the Defence Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Forum are invited to each DSF on a rotational basis. However, no SME Forum member have been invited to attend more than one DSF during the period requested.

Council Tax

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's consultation on technical reforms of council tax, when he expects to publish the results of the Government's further review of how annexes for family homes can be supported.

Brandon Lewis: The Government is undertaking a broad review of how annexes for family homes can be supported and will set out its plans in due course.

Fire Services: Females

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on the number of female firefighters if the normal pension age for female firefighters is increased to 60.

Brandon Lewis: Dr Tony Williams, Medical Director of Working Fit, was commissioned to review the Normal Pension Age for firefighters. This report was provided to members of the Firefighters' Pension Committee, for discussion, at its last meeting on 17 January 2013. I am currently considering the Government's response to this report, and this will be published on the Department's website shortly.
	43% of regular female firefighter pension scheme members are in the New Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2006, which already has a Normal Pension Age of 60.

Housing: Sales

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration his Department has given to reforming the house purchase system; and what assessment he has made of the process in Scotland.

Mark Prisk: We have no current plans to change the current home buying and selling system in England and Wales, where properties are sold “subject to contract”.
	Under the Scottish system, a legally binding conditional contract is entered into as soon as terms have been accepted, from which neither side can withdraw without legal consequences. While this may have its advantages, housing markets are generally much more active in England and Wales, where chains are more common and can be long. Consequently buyers and sellers using the Scottish system in England and Wales could find themselves bound to a contract before selling their existing home and buying a new one, with expensive implications such as bridging finance and the need to find temporary accommodation.
	Sellers in England and Wales are free to choose from a range of options that can be used by those seeking more commitment and certainty that their transaction will be completed. These include 'lock-out' agreements, 'option to purchase', 'conditional contracts' or 'costs guarantee'. There is nothing to stop buyers and sellers agreeing to any of these arrangements on a voluntary basis.
	This Government has cut the cost of moving home by abolishing the requirement to commission a home information pack. The red tape involved increased the cost of selling a home, deterring sellers from putting their homes on the market, and the packs were not trusted by buyers, so duplicating costs. We believe that the similar seller packs recently introduced in Scotland are another example of a more complex system.

Consultants

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all consultancy companies employed by his Department between 2003 and 2012; and what the (a) year and (b) period of engagement was in each case.

Daniel Poulter: Consultancy information for the years 2003 to 2008 is not available centrally as previous Departmental reporting systems did not capture individual contractor details.
	In July 2008, the Department implemented a new business management system (BMS) which collects enhanced detail oh the categorisation, purpose and value of orders. This has now. given the Department the scope to be more specific about the nature of each of the consultancy commissions. However, information on the period of engagement for each case is not held on BMS.
	All the consultancy companies employed by the Department by financial years 2008-09 to 2011-12 are set out in the table which has been placed in the Library.
	2012-13 consultancy information will not be available until the Department's summarised annual accounts are published later in 2013.

Herbal Medicine

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made on implementing a statutory register for herbalists; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The legislation around this policy is complex and there are a number of issues that have arisen which we need to work through. We appreciate that the delay in going out to consult on this matter is causing concern, however it is important that any new legislation is proportionate and fit for purpose.
	The Department intends to make an announcement on the progress of this policy shortly.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost was of inspections carried out by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how often his Department updates the good clinical practice regulations;
	(3)  how many incidents relating to safety issues have arisen in clinical trials in each of the last 10 years;
	(4)  what his policy is on the registration of individuals involved in clinical research with regard to EC Directive 2005/28/EC.

Norman Lamb: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is a Government trading fund and as such has to recover its costs by charging fees to those organisations or individuals that require its services. The costs of its inspections are therefore recovered from its customers. In each of the last five years the MHRA inspections income has been:
	
		
			  Inspections income (£000) 
			 2012-13 (1)8,644 
			 2011-12 (2)9,795 
			 2010-11 9,535 
			 2009-10 9,443 
			 2008-09 8,502 
			 (1) The figure for 2012-13 is provisional and subject to audit by the National Audit Office. (2) The figure for 2011-12 includes income from the European Medicines Agency for inspections undertaken on its behalf. Source: MHRA Annual Report and Accounts certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General except for 2012-13. 
		
	
	Suspected unexpected serious adverse reactions (SUSARs) are serious adverse events occurring in a clinical trial that are both unexpected and thought to be related to the medicine used in the trial. SUSARs are reported to the MHRA in an expedited manner and since 2005 have been recorded on a safety database. In each year since 2005 the MHRA has received the following numbers of SUSARs:
	
		
			  Non-fatal SUSARs 
			 2005 260 
			 2006 514 
			 2007 966 
			 2008 1,046 
			 2009 1,380 
			 2010 1,467 
			 2011 1,216 
			 2012 1,189 
		
	
	Directive 2005/28/EC does not require the registration of individuals involved in clinical research.
	The principles of good clinical practice are outlined in articles 2 to 5 in the EU Directive 2005/28/EC which have been transposed in The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations as amended. In September 2012, the MHRA published the ‘Good Clinical Practice Guide’ covering the legislation, guidance and good practice that relates to the conduct of clinical trials of medicinal products for human use in the United Kingdom. This publication provides guidance on how the clinical trial regulations, and in particular GCP principles, should be implemented in practice.

Prescriptions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS prescription exemption forms are in circulation which pre-date the Department for Work and Pensions changes and amendments to the benefits system and the name descriptor of benefits.

Norman Lamb: The introduction of universal credit by the Department for Work and Pensions will have relevance to the exemption section of the FP10 prescription form. Data is not held on the number of NHS FP10 prescription forms which are in circulation in England.
	Information on how the prescription form should be completed by those receiving universal credit during the early stages of implementation has been made available at:
	www.nhs.uk/uc-healthcosts

Social Services

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has conducted research into the effects by region of the implementation of the cap on care costs and into the feasibility of introducing a regional cap.

Norman Lamb: The Government asked the Commission on Funding Care and Support to produce recommendations for social care funding reform. The Commission recommended a national cap after considering a variety of factors including the differential impacts by region. The Government has committed to implement in April 2016 a £72,000 cap on eligible care costs and extended state support for individuals in residential care with less than £118,000. These proposals will ensure that everyone is protected from excessive care costs regardless of where they live.
	The Government will be consulting upon the details of implementation of these reform over the summer including any differential impacts.

G8

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had on gaining additional finances to assist the policing of the G8 in Fermanagh.

Theresa Villiers: The Government is committed to ensuring that the PSNI has sufficient resources to deliver a safe and secure G8 summit and I have had a number of discussions on this matter.

Direct Selling

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she has given consideration to consolidating the responsibility for dealing with nuisance calls entirely in either Ofcom or the Information Commissioner's Office.

Edward Vaizey: As the Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, I have considered the possibility of allocating responsibility for nuisance calls, texts and e-mails, to either Ofcom or to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). However, this is unlikely to make much difference unless enforcement of the existing regulations is carried out effectively.
	The Government is working closely with both regulators to deliver significant improvements in terms of taking robust action where necessary. For example, the ICO issued its first monetary penalty of £90,000 to a company on 18 March 2013 and has also published on its website a list of the most complained about companies that make calls to Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered consumers:
	http://www.ico.gov.uk/enforcement/action/calls.aspx
	If the companies fail to remedy their actions, then they could face further enforcement action and the ICO is also currently considering issuing penalties to two other companies for breaching the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003.
	Improvements have been made to website pages of both organisations, including whom to contact when making a complaint. Also, Ofcom has in the last year issued monetary penalties totalling £810,000 and improved and clarified information that is provided to consumers online at:
	http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/privacy
	and their Consumer Guide signposts the correct place to make a complaint about a range of nuisance calls:
	http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2012/10/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages

Football: Israel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on England's participation in a European football tournament to be staged in Israel.

Hugh Robertson: I have had no recent discussions on this issue. This is a matter for the Israeli Football Association and UEFA. The UK Government and the Football Association supports UEFA's decision to award the Under 21 Championships to Israel.

Museums and Galleries

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of overseas interest in oil paintings in UK public collections; and if she will urge the owners of those works to capitalise on such interest by putting them on public display if they have not recently been exhibited.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 15 April 2013
	The Government has not carried out such an assessment. It would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene in the display decisions of individual galleries, though we recognise that overseas visitors make up a significant proportion of those visiting galleries. Information on public display can be found at this web address:
	http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/

Jobcentre Plus

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the success of job centres in placing their clients in jobs with Saga Healthcare Ltd.

Mark Hoban: Jobcentre Plus does not track the number of people recruited by specific employers. Saga Healthcare Ltd, works with Jobcentre Plus to support people who are furthest from the labour market to compete in the labour market and secure employment in the care sector.

Jobcentre Plus

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether he has made an estimate of additional time that will be taken by jobcentre staff in order to assist claimants to apply for universal credit online;
	(2)  whether he plans to allocate additional funding to jobcentres to cover the staffing costs of assisting claimants in applying for universal credit online.

Mark Hoban: Universal credit is being rolled out on an incremental basis, beginning with a Pathfinder which starts later this month. The level of resources required in Jobcentres will be informed by the experience of running the Pathfinder operation. This will include resources required to support claimants in the on-line application process.

Work Capability Assessment

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has received reports that previous incapacity benefit recipients with advanced Parkinson's disease have been designated by Atos without examination as being potentially eligible for work and that, even when re-classified within the employment and support allowance support group, are being put on a three-year review.

Mark Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is not aware of any such reports. However, it is important to note that not all claimants are required to attend a face to face assessment as part of the work capability assessment (WCA) process.
	Where possible, the healthcare professional will provide advice to a decision maker on whether the claimant has limited capability for work or limited capability for work related activity based on all the available evidence, without the need for a face to face assessment. This includes those incapacity benefits claimants undergoing reassessment. These claimants therefore could be placed directly in the work-related activity group (WRAG) of employment and support allowance (ESA) using paper based evidence.
	The WCA is based on the functional effects of a condition rather than the condition itself. All healthcare professionals who carry out the assessments receive comprehensive training which includes an evidence based protocol on Parkinson's disease. They are also trained to inquire about variability, both day to day and in the longer term. Those Parkinson sufferers assessed as having limited capability for work will be placed in the WRAG, while those assessed as having limited capability for work related activity will be placed in the support group.
	Everyone who ESA will undergo periodic WCA's to ascertain whether they still meet the conditions for the benefit, including those placed in the support group.
	When an assessment takes place the healthcare professional will make a recommendation on when the claimant should next be reassessed. A claimant for whom a return to work is considered unlikely within two years will be reassessed after two years. Those in the support group will be assessed as a minimum every three years. This is because, even for claimants who are unlikely to see an improvement in their health, it is important that we do not write them off completely.

Work Capability Assessment

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 4 March 2013, Official Report, column 888W, on work capability assessment, how many claimants have undergone an assessment using logic integrated medical assessment (a) nationally and (b) in the Wigan borough council area.

Mark Hoban: Atos Healthcare do not undertake computerised assessments, however, Atos healthcare professionals use a bespoke clinical application (Logic Integrated Medical Assessment—LiMA) which incorporates the latest clinical research on mental health, musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory conditions to accurately and consistently record assessments.
	Although the healthcare professional will capture information on the computer during the assessment, it serves as a guide only and the practitioners are required to use their own clinical judgment to justify the medical opinion contained in the report.
	Information around the geographical area served by a council is not routinely reported by Atos Healthcare to Department for Work and Pensions. However, information has been provided for the three months ending February 2013 of claimants who have undergone a face to face assessment using LiMA in Wigan Medical Assessment Centre and Nationally.
	
		
			  December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 
			 Benefit type Wigan National Wigan National Wigan National 
			 Employment support allowance 434 38,330 521 46,339 350 46,811 
		
	
	
		
			 Incapacity benefit reassessment 182 19,002 253 19,341 176 19,006 
			 Total 616 57,332 774 65,680 526 65,817

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reasons for the low level of employment and support allowance claimants securing sustained job outcomes through the Work Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Employment and support allowance is a relatively new benefit, which was designed to help those people who had previously been parked on incapacity benefits, and essentially left without government support. The Department's previous attempt to help these claimants—Pathways to Work—was not successful.
	Both government and the welfare to work industry have more to learn in working with this group. We are working with providers to identify and build on best practice in working with these claimants.

Kenya

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has made to her Kenyan counterparts on maintaining service provision to refugees and asylum seekers in cities compliant with the UN Refugee Agency's 2009 global urban refugee policy, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Kenya's Refugee Act 2006 following the directive by the Kenyan government on the relocation of refugees from the urban centres to the refugee camps in December 2012.

Lynne Featherstone: The British Government has raised concerns over the proposed Kenyan Government refugee directive with the Kenyan Ministers, and encouraged them to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure the policy and any implementation are consistent with the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

Mali

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to provide humanitarian assistance specifically targeted to female Malian refugees.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government's humanitarian response in the Sahel, as with all responses, is based on need alone, in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.
	None of our humanitarian assistance to the region is therefore specifically targeted at female refugees. However, the rights, needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls are often overlooked in emergencies. The UK Government is working closely with all our aid partners to ensure the most vulnerable, specifically women and children, receive the assistance they need.
	In direct response to the Mali conflict, UK aid is supporting the work of the United Nations' Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme, to provide a comprehensive package of aid including food, health care, protection, and clean water, to over 135,000 refugees in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.

Administration of Justice: Females

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to increase women’s and girls' access to justice processes in conflict areas that (a) meet their specific needs and (b) ensure the perpetrators of sexual violence are brought to justice.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) continues to support action to increase women's and girls' access to justice processes in conflict areas through its Government Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 Women, Peace and Security. For example, the FCO is providing financial support to a UN Development Programme project in Nepal which aims to strengthen the Capacity of the National Human Rights Commission to develop a responsive and accessible justice system to promote gender equality, social inclusion and rule of law. Conflict Pool funds have also been used to support the work of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission to help it act to protect human rights defenders, investigate and catalogue violence towards women, and support those seeking justice.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)'s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVJ), launched last May, is intended to support and complement work which is under way across the UK Government on the Women, Peace and Security agenda. One of the key aims is to tackle the culture of impunity for sexual violence committed in conflict and to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions. At their meeting on 11 April G8 Foreign Ministers agreed a Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence which contains a set of practical commitments to overcome the barriers that impede the implementation of the existing international legal framework and prevent successful investigations and prosecutions. The G8 also endorsed a new, non-legally binding, international protocol on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence in conflict. The UK is currently taking forward work on developing the protocol. This protocol will help improve the evidence base from which prosecutions for sexual violence in conflict can be drawn. The G8 has collectively pledged £23 million in new funding to address sexual violence in conflict,
	The FCO has also established a specialist team of UK experts to deploy to conflict areas to support the UN and civil society to help build national capacity to investigate allegations of sexual violence and gather evidence. A number of deployments have already taken place. For example in March a legal and a psychosocial expert were deployed to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). They worked alongside local experts and in cooperation with the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centre of the Federation of BiH and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe to train judges and prosecutors to strengthen their capacity to effectively prosecute and adjudicate wartime sexual violence crimes in accordance with international standards.
	The Secretary of State announced UK support to furthering justice and accountability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during his visit there in March this year. The UK will aim to deploy two UK experts to Panzi Hospital in the DRC for three months to collaborate with the NGO Physicians for Human Rights and local experts to train and mentor doctors, lawyers, police and judges on their response to specific current cases of sexual violence. The experts will focus on building capacity among local health, legal and law enforcement professionals. They will acquire essential skills that will make a lasting contribution to justice and accountability initiatives in DRC.

Burma

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Burmese counterparts to encourage local authorities in Rakhine State to prevent the harassment of humanitarian staff.

Hugo Swire: The British Government remains extremely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State. We have received reports from international n on-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the UN regarding humanitarian access and the operating environment for those providing much needed assistance. The chargé d’affaires at our embassy in Rangoon joined representatives from the UN, EU, US and Australia to meet with the Burmese Minister with responsibility for Rakhine State, Khin Yi, on 8 April and raised our concerns about the situation, including restrictions affecting NGOs.

India

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the number of outstanding rape cases in that country.

Hugo Swire: Where a case involves violence against a British national, we liaise with the Indian authorities to urge a swift resolution to the case. I raised the delays affecting consular cases involving British nationals with my Indian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister, Preneet Kaur, during my recent visit to India in March. During my visit, I also discussed the broader issue of sexual violence and discrimination with Indian human rights organisations. The Government regularly raises human rights concerns with India, including cases of sexual violence and discrimination, both bilaterally and through the EU-India Human Rights Dialogue.

New Zealand

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance his Department provided to the government of New Zealand following the Christchurch earthquake.

Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not provided any financial assistance to New Zealand following the Christchurch earthquake, nor was it asked to do so by the Government of New Zealand. However, the New Zealand Government did ask its international partners, including the British Government, for practical assistance. This assistance included sending emergency and rescue teams as well as specialists in disaster victim identification.

Sexual Offences

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will use the UK's Presidency of the G8 to secure commitments to address gaps in essential services required by victims of sexual violence.

Mark Simmonds: Yes. Preventing sexual violence in conflict is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)’s, personal priority for the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting on the 10-11 April. The Foreign Secretary secured a major declaration on preventing sexual violence in conflict, the first-of its kind. The G8 collectively pledged £23 million in new funding towards this.
	One of the barriers to more effective action on this issue that we have identified is the gap in funding, resources and services for survivors of sexual violence. The G8 agreed that the provision of appropriate and accessible services, including health, psychosocial, legal and economic support is essential to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of sexual violence in armed conflict and to empower them to pursue justice. The UK position is that all service provision for survivors must be in compliance with the principle of “do no harm” and in accordance with UN Guidelines for gender-based violence interventions in humanitarian settings.

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2013, Official Report, column 781W, on Syria, what categories of training are being provided through the training providers referred to in that Answer.

William Hague: The training we are providing covers human rights and the law of armed conflict. It is specifically designed lo provide the participants with a clear idea of their responsibility to ensure international standards of human rights and humanitarian law.

Alternatives to Prosecution: Yorkshire and the Humber

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) conditional cautions, (b) simple cautions, (c) penalty notices for disorder and (d) other out-of-court disposals have been issued for offences of (i) murder, (ii) rape, (iii) unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, (iv) robbery, (v) burglary, (vi) arson and criminal damage, (vii) section 18 offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, (viii) section 20 offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and (ix) sexual assaults there were in the Humberside local police authority area from 2009 to date.

Jeremy Wright: The use of cautions is at its lowest level for more than five years, as is the number of cautions issued to those who have a previous criminal record. The public and victims have a right to expect that people who commit serious crimes should be brought before a court. On 3 April 2013 we launched a review into the use of cautions which will focus on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders.
	Among other things, the review will examine whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public. The review will be completed by the end of May 2013.
	The number of offenders cautioned (which includes conditional and simple cautions) for the selected offences, in the Humberside police force area, from 2004 to 2011 (latest data available), can be viewed in table 1.
	The number of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) issued to offenders aged 16 and over for criminal damage, in the Humberside police force area, from 2004 to 2011 (latest data available), can be viewed in table 2.
	Please note that PNDs came in to effect in November 2004, and that they are not available for the offences requested except for Criminal Damage.
	Court proceedings data for 2012 are planned for publication in May 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Offenders cautioned(1,2) for selected offences in Humberside police force area, 2004-11(3) 
			 Humberside police force area 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Rape(4) 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Sexualactivity(5) 5 8 13 11 1 7 8 10 
			 Robbery(6) 4 1 8 1 0 0 2 1 
			 Burglary(7) 120 99 139 140 107 73 84 62 
			 ArsonandCriminal damage(8) 603 786 767 776 808 593 447 405 
			 OffencesAgainstthePersonAct1861, S18 1 2 3 1 0 0 2 1 
			 OffencesAgainstthePersonAct1861, S20 6 8 10 15 4 1 1 0 
			 SexualAssault(9) 1 9 12 16 4 11 13 12 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Sexual Offences Act 2003, s1 and s5 (5) Sexual Offences Act 2003, s8,9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (6) Theft Act 1968, s8 (7) Theft Act 1968, s9 and s10 (8) Criminal Damage Act 1971 s1 - s3, Malicious Damage Act 1861 SS.35,36, 47 & 48, Explosive Substances Act 1883 s2 - s4, Offences against the Person Act 1861 s64 and Allotments Act 1922 s19 (9) Sexual Offences Act 2003, s2,3,6 and 7 Note: Figures may not match previously published information following further validation of available data. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued to offenders aged 16 and over for Criminal Damage in Humberside, 2009 to 2011 
			 Offence 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Criminal Damage (under £500)(1) 16 182 719 982 500 351 167 138 
			 (1) Offence added with effect from 1 November 2004. Penalty notices may only be used for criminal damage up to a value of £300 from July 2009 onwards. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claimants for employment and support allowance have had their appeals overturned at a tribunal in (a) North Lanarkshire and (b) Airdrie and Shotts constituency in each year since 2010.

Helen Grant: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service, hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA). Appeals can be made against elements of an ESA award, such as the rate of entitlement, as well as against a decision to refuse ESA.
	The following tables show the number and proportion of ESA appeals found in favour of the appellant and in favour of DWP in the tribunal venues in Glasgow and Hamilton, which serve appellants living in the North Lanarkshire and Airdrie and Shotts constituencies, as well as other nearby locations, in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and April to December 2012 (the latest period for which statistics have been published).
	
		
			 Employment and support allowance appeals 
			 Glasgow 
			   (a) Decisions in favour of DWP (b) Decisions in favour of the appellant 
			  ESA cases cleared at hearing(1) Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 3,004 1,733 58 1,234 41 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 6,060 3,501 58 2,395 40 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 9,238 5,224 57 3,928 43 
			 April 2012 to December2012 8,898 4,833 54 4,010 45 
		
	
	
		
			 Hamilton 
			   (a) Decisions in favour of DWP (b) Decisions in favour of the appellant 
			  ESA cases cleared at hearing(1) Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 1,177 779 66 390 33 
			 April 2010 to March2011 2,357 1,585 67 746 32 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 2,611 1,609 62 976 37 
			 April 2012 to December 2012 2,485 1,434 58 1,044 42 
		
	
	
		
			 Scotland 
			   (a) Decisions in favour of DWP (b) Decisions in favour of the appellant 
			  ESA cases cleared at hearing(1) Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 9,218 5,461 59 3,670 40 
			 April 2010 to March201l 18,904 10,889 58 7,649 40 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 22,782 12,975 , 57 9,577 42 
			 April 2012 to December 2012 20,967 11,234 54 9,597 46 
			 (1) These are cases that were disposed of at a hearing. The total number of cases cleared at hearing includes some cases that were withdrawn and on which no decision was made. These figures are therefore not the sum total of decisions in favour and decisions upheld.

Employment Tribunals Service

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunal cases have been lodged in the last three years relating to non-prison officers working in HM prisons, such as external lecturers.

Helen Grant: Data on the number of claims made in relation to non-prison officers working in HM prisons is not collated centrally. This information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost by manually checking hard copy tribunal files or judgments. However, HM Courts and Tribunals Service maintains public registers of judgments made after the determination of employment tribunal proceedings. The public register can be searched by reference to criteria including the name of the respondent employer. For employment tribunals in England and Wales, the public register of judgments is based at the Field Support Office in Bury St Edmonds. Contact can be made via the Public Inquiry Line (08457 959775), and further information can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at the following address:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/tribunals/employment/venues/public_register_bury1.pdf

Prosecutions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times prosecutors have amended criminal charges to (a) lesser charges and (b) more serious charges after a plea has been taken in court but where the defendant has not yet been sentenced for the originally charged offence in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: HMCTS does not centrally collate changes to criminal charges after a plea has been taken in either the magistrates courts or the Crown court. Cases are managed on an individual basis and this information will be held on case logs on individual files but to manually interrogate them and collate that information would involve disproportionate costs so I am unable to answer your question.

Reoffenders

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rate was in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: These figures are published quarterly and can be found in table 1 (Summary proven re-offending for adults and juveniles) in the publication 'Proven re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin' and available via this link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending

Robbery: Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 788W, on sentencing: robbery, how many of those offenders convicted of robbery and not sent to prison in each year were (a) adults and (b) young offenders; and how many were subsequently convicted of another offence.

Jeremy Wright: Robbery is a serious crime carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The vast majority of offenders do go to prison for the offence—the immediate custody rate for adults in 2011 was 84.3%. The average sentence length for offenders convicted of burglary over the period 2009-11 is 1,003 days.
	Reoffending rates are unacceptably high. We are tackling this by changing the way we deal with offenders released after short sentences, so there is greater supervision and rehabilitation.
	Table 1 shows the number of adult and young offenders sentenced for robbery without receiving a custodial sentence in England and Wales, 2009-11.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of adult and young offenders sentenced for robbery without receiving a custodial sentence England and Wales, 2009-11(1, 2) 
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 Total 3,509 3,568 3,710 
			 Of which:    
			 Adults (age 18 or over) 832 907 866 
			 Young offenders (ages 10-17) 2,677 2,661 2,844 
			 Notes: (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the number of adult and young offenders who, having received a non-custodial sentence for robbery between 2009 and 2011, subsequently went on to be convicted of another offence.
	The data presented in this table are derived from a different source than those given in table 1 and therefore are not directly comparable. In addition, it should be noted that those offenders receiving a non-custodial sentence for robbery in 2009 will have had at up to two years longer to be convicted of another offence than those receiving a non-custodial sentence in 2011, Therefore, no attempt should be made to compare the figures over the three years presented.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of adults and young offenders who, having received a non-custodial sentence for robbery between 2009 and 2011, subsequently went on to be convicted of another offence, England and Wales 
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 Adults (ages 18 and over) 425 403 289 
			 Young offenders (ages 10-17) 1,901 1,684 1,414 
			 Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Young Offenders

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with regard to people under the age of 18 that have been arrested and cautioned since May 2005, (a) what the offence was which provoked the caution and (b) how many cautions that person had already received by (i) region and (ii) year.

Jeremy Wright: The use of cautions is at its lowest level for more than five years, as is the number of cautions issued to those who have a previous criminal record. The public and victims have a right to expect that people who commit serious crimes should be brought before a court. On 3 April 2013 we launched a review into the use of cautions which will focus on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders.
	Among other things, the review will examine whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public. The review will be completed by the end of May 2013.
	Table 1 is in answer to part (a) of the question and shows the number of offenders in England and Wales under the age of 18 who have been cautioned between May 2005 and June 2012 by the offence class for which they were cautioned, by region of the police force issuing the caution and year. Table 2 is in answer to part (b) of the question and shows the number of offenders in England and Wales under the age of 18 who have been cautioned between May 2005 and June 2012 by the previous number of times they have received a caution, by region of the police force issuing the caution and year.
	The data includes caution occasions and the primary offence committed for each caution occasion is the one used to determine the offence type in Table 1. An individual may appear multiple times in both tables and the previous caution count in Table 2 will include all previous caution occasions from that point. Therefore an offender may appear several times in the data with a higher previous caution count for each later caution occasion.
	Please note that figures for 2005 only include cautions recorded from May to December. In addition 2012 only includes figures for cautions from January to end of June in line with published information.
	These figures are derived from the data used to produce Table 7k in the offending histories tables--June 2012 of the “Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly Update to June 2012” which was last published on 29 November 2012. The link to the report is found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/criminal-justice/criminal-justice-statistics
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of cautions given to offenders under the age of 18 in England and Wales between May 2005 to June 2012 by police force region and offence class 
			 Number of cautions 
			 Region Offence Class 2005(1) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012(2) 
			 East Midlands Burglary 282 384 400 292 218 185 155 66 
			  Criminal damage 856 1,032 631 529 278 203 208 59 
			  Drug offences 331 446 485 402 475 531 513 242 
			  Fraud and forgery 47 147 83 84 34 36 33 16 
			  Indictable motoring offences 1 1 5 — — — 2 1 
			  Other indictable offences 115 168 142 125 97 96 64 27 
			  Robbery 14 23 37 23 24 28 16 2 
			  Sexual offences 49 59 47 59 52 56 49 19 
			  Summary motoring offences 4 13 10 8 2 2 2 1 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 2,275 4,306 4,363 3,274 2,434 2,219 1,827 667 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 2,125 3,446 3,215 2,451 2,061 1,613 1,246 427 
			  Violence against the person 1,065 1,179 899 700 534 479 430 164 
			 East Midlands total  7,164 11,204 10,317 7,947 6,209 5,448 4,545 1,691 
			           
			 Eastern Burglary 317 542 412 320 274 171 153 39 
			  Criminal damage 436 671 569 474 376 266 153 43 
			  Drug offences 398 566 693 939 831 769 775 288 
			  Fraud and forgery 56 124 121 104 74 56 52 16 
			  Indictable motoring offences — 5 — — — 1 — — 
			  Other indictable offences 75 127 184 141 148 126 91 28 
			  Robbery 18 20 16 9 15 9 22 6 
			  Sexual offences 38 69 63 67 58 47 52 31 
			  Summary motoring offences 7 15 17 14 7 1 3 1 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 3,208 5,270 5,697 4,911 3,913 2,831 2,163 790 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 2,758 4,642 5,050 4,072 3,693 2,243 1,553 463 
			  Violence against the person 695 1,000 891 694 668 479 383 148 
			 Eastern total  8,006 13,051 13,713 11,745 10,057 6,999 5,400 1,853 
			           
		
	
	
		
			 London Burglary 218 352 360 278 205 118 78 38 
			  Criminal damage 416 761 529 181 120 60 38 15 
			  Drug offences 963 1,350 1,571 1,834 1,550 1,213 896 421 
			  Fraud and forgery 105 155 233 260 186 142 55 32 
			  Indictable motoring offences 3 — 3 1 — 1 — — 
			  Other indictable offences 159 312 327 262 215 173 110 22 
			  Robbery 105 238 250 188 116 110 130 30 
			  Sexual offences 32 48 62 72 63 36 36 15 
			  Summary motoring offences 3 14 25 28 15 12 4 4 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 1,869 3,598 3,906 3,809 2,633 1,740 1,184 386 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 2,384 3,926 3,898 3,206 2,978 1,901 1,069 385 
			  Violence against the person 771 1,335 1,134 814 536 414 325 129 
			 London total  7,028 12,089 12,298 10,933 8,617 5,920 3,925 1,477 
			           
			 North East Burglary 174 311 285 186 153 111 89 53 
			  Criminal damage 341 498 307 296 237 163 168 68 
			  Drug offences 328 389 316 333 266 177 198 72 
			  Fraud and forgery 42 63 72 72 50 36 26 11 
			  Indictable motoring offences 1 2 1 1 1 1 — 1 
			  Other indictable offences 70 157 137 134 72 82 52 12 
			  Robbery 5 14 6 8 3 4 1 1 
			  Sexual offences 32 37 36 35 26 29 33 11 
			  Summary motoring offences 3 8 13 10 7 2 2 1 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 2,555 4,424 4,723 3,562 2,484 1,510 1,287 546 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 1,601 2,668 2,848 2,203 1,919 964 810 335 
			  Violence against the person 561 899 749 540 411 322 242 101 
			 North East total  5,713 9,470 9,493 7,380 5,629 3,401 2,908 1,212 
			           
			 North West Burglary 566 859 714 525 476 348 252 97 
			  Criminal damage 286 428 380 301 200 170 103 25 
			  Drug offences 869 1,029 1,527 1,701 1,612 1,169 910 327 
			  Fraud and forgery 83 116 151 109 112 75 55 21 
			  Indictable motoring offences 2 2 3 2 2 1 — — 
			  Other indictable offences 158 217 232 211 175 137 113 52 
			  Robbery 28 34 47 24 24 20 27 10 
			  Sexual offences 47 71 98 59 52 63 42 21 
			  Summary motoring offences 13 19 17 19 8 6 2 2 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 4,882 7,786 7,576 5,911 4,295 3,150 2,351 822 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 3,117 4,578 4,370 3,582 2,655 1,974 1,314 415 
			  Violence against the person 1,540 1,979 1,630 1,098 860 684 489 200 
			 North West total  11,591 17,118 16,745 13,542 10,471 7,797 5,658 1,992 
			           
			 South East Burglary 462 687 702 484 393 312 256 77 
			  Criminal damage 548 1,023 746 487 389 278 229 89 
			  Drug offences 940 1,109 1,363 1,511 1,069 873 689 307 
			  Fraud and forgery 122 200 320 189 109 69 67 22 
			  Indictable motoring offences 1 7 1 1 2 1 — — 
			  Other indictable offences 167 268 316 203 208 135 114 28 
			  Robbery 27 43 26 22 17 14 16 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Sexual offences 88 127 104 82 76 66 53 29 
			  Summary motoring offences 9 21 23 25 19 12 12 1 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 5,572 8,178 8,311 6,327 4,989 3,580 2,626 1,000 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 4,441 6,302 6,589 5,396 5,137 3,160 1,734 599 
			  Violence against the person 1,171 1,687 1,504 1,069 923 647 522 190 
			 South East total  13,548 19,652 20,005 15,796 13,331 9,147 6,318 2,345 
			           
			 South West Burglary 320 403 414 328 237 195 139 64 
			  Criminal damage 308 532 421 303 239 194 175 62 
			  Drug offences 475 623 633 677 569 645 682 305 
			  Fraud and forgery 59 98 97 78 38 37 30 16 
			  Indictable motoring offences — 1 2 — — 1 — — 
			  Other indictable offences 104 138 146 98 96 94 61 22 
			  Robbery 10 18 11 8 6 6 2 3 
			  Sexual offences 37 52 53 60 52 52 43 23 
			  Summary motoring offences 12 27 19 15 9 11 4 4 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 3,156 5,191 5,303 4,265 2,956 2,381 1,988 806 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 2,279 3,599 3,446 2,573 1,935 1,383 1,045 381 
			  Violence against the person 605 828 650 545 422 363 269 110 
			 South West total  7,365 11,510 11,195 8,950 6,559 5,362 4,438 1,796 
			           
			 Wales Burglary 249 377 317 310 239 162 105 38 
			  Criminal damage 521 881 722 700 572 391 230 105 
			  Drug offences 399 469 390 485 399 373 348 157 
			  Fraud and forgery 36 51 42 38 28 25 13 4 
			  Indictable motoring offences — 7 — 1 1 1 1 — 
			  Other indictable offences 174 293 152 75 66 50 32 12 
			  Robbery 13 9 7 7 3 — 2 2 
			  Sexual offences 25 36 31 29 31 20 33 8 
			  Summary motoring offences 6 10 12 8 3 — 3 1 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 1,424 2,643 2,943 2,805 2,329 1,573 1,110 457 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 1,400 1,940 2,064 1,991 1,799 1,080 635 260 
			  Violence against the person 478 743 551 436 320 186 170 53 
			 Wales total  4,725 7,459 7,231 6,885 5,790 3,861 2,682 1,097 
			           
			 West Midlands Burglary 355 563 461 331 213 201 170 73 
			  Criminal damage 230 526 431 235 137 99 83 37 
			  Drug offences 588 882 759 694 564 486 463 182 
			  Fraud and forgery 64 122 108 81 75 49 28 7 
			  Indictable motoring offences 2 6 — 5 1 1 1 — 
			  Other indictable offences 163 314 281 270 162 118 83 20 
			  Robbery 17 52 50 48 33 34 21 10 
			  Sexual offences 77 91 83 65 51 51 36 22 
			  Summary motoring offences 6 11 14 13 7 1 3 1 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 4,297 6,517 6,624 4,615 2,849 1,863 1,470 543 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 2,691 4,346 4,253 2,846 1,977 1,167 835 276 
			  Violence against the person 1,061 1,631 1,344 1,131 788 519 424 177 
		
	
	
		
			 West Midlands total  9,551 15,061 14,408 10,334 6,857 4,589 3,617 1,348 
			           
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Burglary 404 681 642 464 381 265 243 88 
			  Criminal damage 449 708 723 558 401 201 194 78 
			  Drug offences 423 584 547 531 463 382 380 159 
			  Fraud and forgery 55 119 83 106 56 44 37 13 
			  Indictable motoring offences 3 7 4 3 1 1 — 1 
			  Other indictable offences 173 312 255 198 154 109 90 32 
			  Robbery 41 46 53 35 20 16 10 9 
			  Sexual offences 54 81 68 42 39 54 45 25 
			  Summary motoring offences 10 31 18 17 11 14 13 6 
			  Summary offences excluding motoring 4,508 7,078 6,437 4,690 3,256 2,145 1,655 634 
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 3,106 4,596 4,757 3,772 3,295 1,642 1,186 418 
			  Violence against the person 1,275 2,060 1,727 1,169 816 587 472 135 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside total  10,501 16,303 15,314 11,585 8,893 5,460 4,325 1,598 
			           
			 Grand total  85,192 132,917 130,719 105,097 82,413 57,984 43,816 16,409 
			 (1) 2005 includes data from May to December only. (2) 2012 includes data from January to June only. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of cautions given to offenders under the age of 18 in England and Wales between May 2005 to June 2012 by police force region and by previous cautions. 
			 Number of cautions 
			 Region Number of previous cautions received 2005(1) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012(2) 
			 East Midlands 0 5,509 8,416 7,324 5,646 4,506 3,936 3,287 1,250 
			  1-2 1,640 2,747 2,945 2,263 1,690 1,495 1,247 437 
			  3-6 15 41 48 38 13 17 11 4 
			 East Midlands total  7,164 11,204 10,317 7,947 6,209 5,448 4,545 1,691 
			           
			 Eastern 0 6,441 10,080 10,500 8,766 7,534 5,165 3,865 1,322 
			  1-2 1,558 2,965 3,200 2,964 2,510 1,822 1,526 529 
			  3-6 7 6 13 15 13 12 9 2 
			 Eastern total  8,006 13,051 13,713 11,745 10,057 6,999 5,400 1,853 
			           
			 London 0 5,728 9,800 9,838 8,554 6,745 4,558 3,008 1,153 
			  1-2 1,295 2,282 2,456 2,367 1,865 1,361 913 319 
			  3-6 5 7 4 12 7 1 4 5 
			 London total  7,028 12,089 12,298 10,933 8,617 5,920 3,925 1,477 
			           
			 North East 0 4,263 6,925 6,952 5,248 3,814 2,084 1,870 832 
			  1-2 1,444 2,532 2,532 2,124 1,809 1,311 1,035 379 
			  3-6 6 13 9 8 6 6 3 1 
			 North East total  5,713 9,470 9,493 7,380 5,629 3,401 2,908 1,212 
			           
			 North West 0 8,999 12,879 12,320 9,913 7,446 5,533 4,023 1,461 
			  1-2 2,579 4,197 4,386 3,600 3,003 2,248 1,621 525 
		
	
	
		
			  3-6 13 42 39 29 22 16 14 6 
			 North West total  11,591 17,118 16,745 13,542 10,471 7,797 5,658 1,992 
			           
			 South East 0 10,113 14,438 14,612 11,346 9,627 6,518 4,377 1,693 
			  1-2 3,374 5,152 5,337 4,408 3,674 2,611 1,922 642 
			  3-6 61 62 56 42 30 18 19 10 
			 South East total  13,548 19,652 20,005 15,796 13,331 9,147 6,318 2,345 
			           
			 South West 0 5,831 8,820 8,359 6,616 4,728 3,835 3,236 1,309 
			  1-2 1,527 2,683 2,824 2,328 1,825 1,520 1,197 487 
			  3-6 7 7 12 6 6 7 5 — 
			 South West total  7,365 11,510 11,195 8,950 6,559 5,362 4,438 1,796 
			           
			 Wales 0 3,510 5,419 5,249 4,944 4,119 2,655 1,788 722 
			  1-2 1,196 2,003 1,951 1,908 1,646 1,199 886 365 
			  3-6 19 37 31 33 25 7 8 10 
			 Wales total  4,725 7,459 7,231 6,885 5,790 3,861 2,682 1,097 
			           
			 West Midlands 0 7,205 11,275 10,504 7,210 4,901 3,237 2,593 1,001 
			  1-2 2,321 3,736 3,876 3,097 1,934 1,339 1,014 346 
			  3-6 23 50 28 27 22 13 10 1 
			  7-10 2 — — — — — — — 
			 West Midlands total  9,551 15,061 14,408 10,334 6,857 4,589 3,617 1,348 
			           
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 0 7,902 11,833 10,975 8,114 6,349 3,757 3,013 1,171 
			  1-2 2,589 4,438 4,315 3,447 2,530 1,688 1,307 424 
			  3-6 10 32 24 24 14 15 5 3 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside total  10,501 16,303 15,314 11,585 8,893 5,460 4,325 1,598 
			           
			 Grand total  85,192 132,917 130,719 105,097 82,413 57,984 43,816 16,409 
			 (1) 2005 includes data from May to December only. (2) 2012 includes data from January to June only. Source: Ministry of Justice

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of young offenders in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England have gone on to reoffend.

Jeremy Wright: The following table presents the number of juvenile offenders (aged under 18) in South Yorkshire and England who were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, received a caution, reprimand, warning or tested positive for opiates or cocaine in April 2010-March 2011 (the latest figures available); and the proportion that committed a proven reoffence within a one year follow-up period.
	
		
			 April 2010 to March 2011 Percentage/number 
			 South Yorkshire  
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (percentage) 34.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(1) 2,232 
			 England  
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (percentage) 35.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(1) 82,977 
			 (1) This number does not represent all proven offenders. Offenders who were released from custody or commenced a court order are matched to the police national computer database. A certain proportion of these offenders cannot be matched and are, therefore, excluded from the offender cohort, ie the group of offenders for whom re-offending is measured. 
		
	
	In response to a Ministry of Justice consultation on improvements to reoffending statistics, proven reoffending data is only produced at the regional, probation area and local authority level and not at constituency level.
	Proven reoffending is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six mouth waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.

Banks: Fraud

Paul Flynn: To ask the Attorney- General if he will initiate a prosecution for fraud of those individuals who held the posts of (a) chairman, (b) chief executive and (c) board member at the time of the collapse of (i) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (ii) Halifax Bank of Scotland and (iii) Lloyds Bank.

Oliver Heald: As and when matters come to the attention of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) they are assessed in the context of the SFO's remit to investigate fraud, bribery and corruption. If appropriate, relevant matters will be considered for criminal investigation in line with SFO internal procedures.

Job Creation

Dominic Raab: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of new jobs created in each of the last 10 years required a university degree.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority, I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated April 2013
	.
	The requested statistics are not available. Information on the number of jobs requiring a degree is not collected and there are no direct estimates of the number of jobs created.

Public Sector: Procurement

Nick Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what checks he makes on the performance of individual Departments in awarding public sector contracts to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Chloe Smith: SMEs are the lifeblood of our economy and that's why we are determined to support them in winning a larger slice of government contracts than in the past.
	Since the general election, central Government Departments have developed action plans to increase spend with SMEs, and report spend on a monthly basis to the Efficiency and Reform Group in the Cabinet Office. Such performance was never even measured by the last Government.
	The most recent published data shows that direct spend with SMEs across Government has steadily increased since 2010: This can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/departmental-sme-spend-for-2011-12-reveals-steady-increase

Academies

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to minimise legal costs to schools who wish to convert to academy status.

Elizabeth Truss: In order to minimise the legal costs to schools who wish to convert to academy status, the Department has produced model legal documents (including the Funding Agreement, Articles, Memorandum and land documents) which are available to download from the Department's website. The Department also provides a flat-rate grant of £25,000 to each school in order to assist with the costs associated with conversion to academy status.

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which (a) organisations and (b) individuals in England have made representations advocating changes to adult to child ratios in childcare settings, other than in response to the Childcare Commission call for evidence.

Elizabeth Truss: I have had numerous conversations about staff to child ratios in childcare settings with individuals and organisations in England, as have officials of the Department. These conversations revealed a wide range of views. There is a recognition that staff to child ratios have remained the same for decades, and have not kept pace with the significant changes in child care and early education we have seen in this country. This reinforces the case for reviewing those rules and considering greater flexibility for providers to deploy better qualified staff to meet children's needs effectively.

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  when he intends to publish a summary of the responses received to the Childcare Commission call for evidence; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the full text of responses received to the Childcare Commission call for evidence;
	(2)  how many responses to the Childcare Commission call for evidence advocated changes to adult-to-child ratios in childcare settings; and from whom such representations were received.

Elizabeth Truss: Last year the Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions ran a joint call for evidence to inform the work of the commission on child care. The Government intends to publish a summary report of responses to this call for evidence and will place a copy in the Library.

Children: Disability

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each local authority has spent on short breaks for disabled children in each financial year since 2010-11. [Official Report, 20 May 2013, Vol. 563, c. 9MC.]

Edward Timpson: Data on how much each local authority spends on short breaks for disabled children is collected through the section 251 return. Data from the section 251 returns for 2010-2011 and 2011-12 are set out in the following table. Data for 2012-13 will be available at the beginning of 2014.
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 England 212,622,518 221,821,825 
			    
			 City of London 0 0 
			 Camden 1,185,171 2,672,686 
			 Greenwich 976,985 1,129,743 
			 Hackney 1,043,584 984,790 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 742,773 
			 Islington 1,549,902 1,093,436 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 789,987 1,444,987 
			 Lambeth 1,312,930 689,957 
			 Lewisham 157,384 439,978 
			 Southwark 428,112 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,584,061 2,105,684 
			 Wandsworth 1,931,824 1,563,037 
			 Westminster 455,399 310,613 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,505,492 1,342,826 
			 Barnet 1,437,643 1,053,332 
			 Wakefield 4,433,209 2,889,280 
			 Gateshead 207,178 653,634 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,632,901 2,730,275 
			 North Tyneside 2,089,243 2,218,232 
			 South Tyneside 0 0 
			 Sunderland 305,697 955,138 
			 Isles of Scilly 9,984 17,160 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 935,961 647,047 
			 Bristol, City of 0 840,576 
			 North Somerset 845,000 958,182 
			 South Gloucestershire 1,790,000 1,272,860 
			 Hartlepool 610,151 1,181,170 
			 Middlesbrough 547,223 509,254 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1,101,427 939,540 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 715,993 798,120 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 148,675 1,370,228 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,026,763 762,796 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1,802,173 1,729,748 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,004,032 1,034,989 
			 North Yorkshire . 2,628,282 1,985,074 
			 York 87,354 1,487,414 
			 Luton 1,068,394 2,115,234 
			 Bedford 2,202,973 1,525,751 
			 Central Bedfordshire 2,069,563 1,536,370 
			 Buckinghamshire 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Milton Keynes 545,135 673,425 
			 Derbyshire 3,330,432 232,852 
			 Derby 111,423 555,860 
			 Dorset 0 0 
			 Poole 926,461 115,607 
			 Bournemouth 385,437 379,732 
			 Durham 3,079,175 2,763,939 
			 Darlington 353,548 455,579 
			 East Sussex 2,623,526 2,687,433 
			 Brighton and Hove 0 693,398 
			 Hampshire 0 2,866,988 
			 Portsmouth 378,633 388,019 
			 Southampton 634,233 611,687 
			 Leicestershire 1,247,045 2,273,904 
			 Leicester 922,982 66,360 
			 Rutland 98,796 241,510 
			 Staffordshire 1,332,968 1,270,870 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1,791,640 1,777,665 
			 Wiltshire 100,625 981,725 
			 Swindon 0 802,437 
			 Bracknell Forest 874,137 627,799 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 1,034,349 856,666 
			 West Berkshire 1,011,071 1,167,194 
			 Reading 338,558 140,562 
			 Slough 29,522 475,237 
			 Wokingham 710,290 1,140,987 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,955,482 1,131,728 
			 Peterborough 0 0 
			 Halton 0 440,540 
			 Warrington 1,281,038 2,544 
			 Devon 4,296,518 4,151,334 
			 Plymouth 631,069 1,739,962 
			 Torbay 296,160 368,682 
			 Essex 3,654,700 3,573,117 
			 Southend-on-Sea 801,475 472,119 
			 Thurrock 821,328 785,486 
			 Herefordshire 931,379 576,159 
			 Worcestershire 3,062,066 2,436,297 
			 Kent 7,418,927 6,818,894 
			 Medway 1,440,668 1,264,450 
			 Lancashire 9,470,544 9,838,558 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 981,049 434,606 
			 Blackpool 609,674 364,570 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,994,752 6,452,155 
			 Nottingham 2,085,354 1,943,336 
			 Shropshire 1,710,298 2,240,991 
			 Telford and Wrekin 1,257,646 1,103,832 
			 Cheshire East 1,222,140 93,608 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 1,623,696 2,057,503 
			 Cornwall 1,594,192 5,109,973 
			 Cumbria 2,411,705 2,643,349 
			 Gloucestershire 3,645,842 2,965,597 
			 Hertfordshire 1,374,093 4,437,671 
			 Isle of Wight 1,178,074 1,045,534 
			 Lincolnshire 2,520,764 1,604,543 
			 Norfolk 36,560 752 
			 Northamptonshire 516,979 1,811,013 
			 Northumberland 222,483 1,973,316 
			 Oxfordshire 2,988,827 2,074,785 
			 Somerset 1,506,299 471,746 
			 Suffolk 120,075 51,766 
			 Surrey 6,496,545 8,063,783 
			 Warwickshire 1,045,165 3,259,999 
		
	
	
		
			 West Sussex 4,911,687 2,848,712 
			 Notes: 1. Information is as provided by local authorities in the s251 outturn collection. 2. Short breaks (respite) for disabled children includes all provision for short-breaks (respite) services for disabled children in need but not looked after. This includes the costs of short breaks utilising a residential setting—including overnight stays; day care and sessional visits to the setting; family based overnight and day care short break services—including those provided through contract and family link carers; sitting or sessional short break services in the child's home; or supporting the child to access activities in the community. The field excludes short breaks for looked after disabled children; any break exceeding 28 days continuous care; costs associated with providing disabled children's access to universal day services such as formal childcare, youth clubs; or extended school activities.

Children: Martial Arts

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will assess the effects on children of an increase in the practice of mixed martial arts.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 15 April 2013
	Martial arts are not currently a compulsory part of the school curriculum and there are no plans to change this. It is for schools to make their own decisions about whether to include martial arts within their PE and sports provision.
	We are not aware of any evidence that standards of provision in the practice of mixed martial arts are in anyway harming the welfare and safety of children.

Email

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that the Mrs Blurt email account can be searched in response to requests submitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 where official government business is discussed.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 March 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and his special advisers use equipment and systems provided by the Department and their own IT equipment as appropriate, depending on their location and circumstances. Where information is generated in the course of conducting Government business, it is stored on departmental systems. This complies with the Information Commissioner’s recommendation that:
	‘Where necessity prompts the use of private e-mail for departmental business, DFE guidance should be clear that a departmental e-mail address must be copied in to ensure the completeness of the Department’s records.’

E-mail

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent advice he has sought from the Cabinet Office on the use of private email accounts by his Department for the purposes of official Government business; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: None.

Free School Meals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to introduce the free school meals element of universal credit in October 2013.

David Laws: The Government is currently considering proposals for determining entitlement to free school meals under universal credit. We do not expect to introduce these until after October 2013. From April 2013, as universal credit is very gradually rolled out to small areas of the country as part of the pathfinder, all households receiving universal credit will be entitled to free school meals for their children; this is because they would have been entitled to out of work benefits under the current benefits system. This interim measure, to ensure children continue to receive free school meals during the pathfinder, does not reflect any decisions over FSM eligibility when universal credit is rolled out more widely.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in each decile of deprivation achieved (a) five A* to C grades including English and mathematics at GCSE and (b) five A* to C grades including both English and mathematics at GCSE but excluding equivalents in each year since 1997.

David Laws: A five year time series giving the percentage of pupils in each decile of deprivation according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs or iGCSEs is published in the Statistical First Release ‘GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics in England’. A link to the publication is given as follows and the relevant table (Table A1) can be found within the 'Additional Tables' download. The publication's underlying data includes actual pupil numbers for the latest year.
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00219200/gcse-and-equivalent-attainment-
	Two tables have been placed in the House Libraries providing a five year time series of the number and percentage of pupils in each decile of deprivation achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs or iGCSEs and those pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C excluding equivalents including English and mathematics GCSEs or iGCSEs. Information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Truancy

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many days were missed due to unauthorised absence from maintained mainstream schools in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on unauthorised absence from 2008/09 to 2010/11 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 State-funded primary and secondary schools(1, 2, 3): Unauthorised absence rates and days missed—Academic years 2008/09 to 2010/11—England, Suffolk local authority and Bury St Edmunds parliamentary constituency 
			  2008/09 
			  State-funded primary schools(1, 2) State-funded secondary schools(1, 3) Total 
			  Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) 
			 England 3,178,660 0.6 6,501,070 1.5 9,679,730 1.0 
		
	
	
		
			 Suffolk local authority 34,910 0.7 86,750 1.2 121,650 1.0 
			 Bury St Edmunds constituency 3,470 0.5 13,610 0.9 17,080 0.8 
		
	
	
		
			  2009/10 
			  State-funded primary schools(1, 2) State-funded secondary schools(1, 3) Total 
			  Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) 
			 England 3,332,700 0.7 6,297,870 1.4 9,630,580 1.0 
			 Suffolk local authority 35,080 0.7 79,430 1.1 114,510 0.9 
			 Bury St Edmunds constituency 3,640 0.5 10,660 0.7 14,300 0.7 
		
	
	
		
			  2010/11 
			  State-funded primary schools(1, 2) State-funded secondary schools(1, 3) Total 
			  Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) Days missed due to unauthorised absence(4) Unauthorised absence rate(5) 
			 England 3,543,500 0.7 6,236,370 1.4 9,779,870 1.1 
			 Suffolk local authority 39,270 0.7 81,970 1.2 121,230 1.0 
			 Bury St Edmunds constituency 4,010 0.6 12,150 0.8 16,160 0.7 
			 (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4 )Number of sessions missed due to unauthorised absence divided by two. (5 )The number of sessions missed due to unauthorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. Note: Number of days missed has been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census 
		
	
	The latest data on absence, for the school year, is published as Statistical First Release 04/2012 'Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2010/11' at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00206150/pupil-absence-schools-2010-2011
	'Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2011/12' was published on 19 March 2013 at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/a00221993/pupil-absence-eng-charact
	Copies of these reports will be placed in the House Libraries.

Billing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will commission an assessment of the effect on economic growth of late payments by large firms which subcontract elements of their workload.

Michael Fallon: Cash flow difficulties arising from late payment affect the viability of many small and medium-sized businesses and as such would have a negative impact on GDP, although data is not available to quantify this.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Wheat

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who holds the patents for the GM constructs encoding (E)-ß-farnesene synthase in wheat covered by release consent granted to Rothamsted Research issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2011 and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; and in which country each patent was granted.

Jo Swinson: Constructs to be used in wheat (Triticum aestivum) covered by the release consent granted to Rothamsted Research (11/R8/01) by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2011 detail “one or both of the following synthetic genes: (E)-ß-farnesene synthase and farnesyl diphosphate synthase.”
	Three patent applications explicitly disclosing the use of (E)-ß-farnesene synthase genes (from a variety of sources) in transgenic plants have been identified. None of these mention the use of the gene in wheat and it is not clear which, if any of them, would be suitable for modifying wheat. The applications were filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and could potentially result in patents granted in a large number of countries. However, to date only one patent has been granted, in the United States. The holder for this patent is listed as Ceres Inc of California, USA. The other two applications were filed by Keygene NV and Sapphire Energy and Scripps Research Institute.

Green Investment Bank

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the borrowing powers of the Green Investment Bank to commence.

Michael Fallon: The Government is fully committed to providing the Green Investment Bank with the funding it needs to be an enduring and effective financial institution. It has been allocated £3 billion for the period to March 2015. The level of funding after 2014/15 will be determined at the next spending review in the context of wider value for money and affordability considerations. The focus of the bank's management team is on building a well run organisation with a good track record worthy of the injection of more capital or of borrowing money in capital markets.